LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fixing the damage caused by a southeast Nebraska prison riot cost far more than initially predicted and will take until mid-2016 to complete.
The Department of Correctional Services says it needs nearly $1.3 million from lawmakers to replacement equipment, supplies, walls, doors and window grilles that were destroyed during the May 10 riot at the prison in Tecumseh. The state previously paid a $200,000 deductible to its insurer, which has already covered slightly more than $1 million in expenses.
The estimate far exceeds earlier tallies of the damage total that wasn’t covered by insurance. Corrections director Scott Frakes told a legislative committee in May that his best cost estimate was between $350,000 and $500,000.
Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith says inspections after the riot revealed “much more extensive” damage than expected.